Banana Island, Coron, Palawan, Philippines

Banana Island is a fish and coral sanctuary in the southern part of Coron, Palawan, Philippines. Preserved and privately-owned by Gallego Family, they allow visitors to swim and see the clams, corals and lots of fishes just few meters from the shoreline of the island.

To visit the Island from Metro Manila, I made a sample 2-nights travel itinerary for you to begin with:

MONDAY (Day 0)

05:00am ~ 06:00am : Breakfast

06:00am ~ 07:00am : travel to Manila Airport

07:00am ~ 08:00am : Check-in

08:00am ~ 09:00am : Boarding

09:00am ~ 10:00am : Manila > Coron Airport (SkyjetAir 9am flight)

10:00am ~ 11:00am : Coron Airport -> Coron Town

11:00am ~ 01:00pm : Lunch and restock in Coron Town

01:00pm ~ 02:00pm : Shopping in Pantalan

02:00pm ~ 04:00pm : Coron Town to Banana Island Passenger Boat

04:00pm ~ 05:00pm : HAYAHAY

07:00pm ~ 08:00pm : Dinner

TUESDAY (Day 1)

HAYAHAY, snorkeling one to sawa, sunburn

Eat, Sleep, Repeat

WEDNESDAY (Day 2)

06:00am ~ 07:00am : Breakfast

07:00am ~ 08:00am : Pack-up

08:00am ~ 09:00am : Catch-up Bulalacao -> Coron Town Passenger Boat

09:00am ~ 10:00am : Van Transfer Coron Town to Coron Airport

10:00am ~ 11:00am : Check-in

11:00am ~ 12:00nn : Boarding

12:00nn ~ 01:00pm : Coron to Manila Airport (CebuPac 12nn flight)

01:00pm ~ 02:00pm : Home Sweet Home, Lunch

02:00pm ~ 03:00pm : UPLOAD! UPLOAD!

Things to bring:

Camera

Waterproof Travel Bags

Snorkeling Gears

Aqua Shoes

Coral Reef Friendly Sunblock

Battery Pack for your Gadgets, solar or crank usb chargers

Garbage Bag

Food and Water

Bread for fish feeding

Cooking Stove, Cook Set and Fuel (optional)

Eating Utensils (optional)

Me (left) with Mr Gallego (right)

Things to Remember:

Beach camping on the island is no longer allowed

Day-tour entrance fee is PhP 200

Overnight fee is PhP 850 ~ PhP 1000 per night

Most of the cottages have lights and electric fans run through electric generator

Some

They can cook for you, but bring your own food to cook

No fishing, but you can ask them to fish for you

They have a small store that sell few items like softdrinks, beer, alcohol drinks, cigarets, and chips

Waterproof your bags, phones and gadgets

DO NOT use non-coral-friendly sunblock

Garbage In, Garbage Out. No garbage should stay on the island

The Coron-Bulalacao Passenger Boat operates Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays only. Bulalacao-to-Coron-Town: leaves at 8am~9am, while Coron-town-to-Bulalacao between 2pm-4pm in Pantalan.